Antonio Lucci

Who was Antonio Lucci?

The Blessed Antonio Lucci, O.F.M. Conv., was an Italian Franciscan friar and bishop. Serving as spiritual leader of an impoverished region, he spent his life caring for and improving the lives of his flock. He has been beatified by the Catholic Church.

He was born Angelo Nicola Lucci on 2 August 1682 in Agnone, in the Province of Isernia, on the eastern coast of Italy, then a part of the Kingdom of Sicily. He attended the local school run by the Conventual Franciscans and joined them at the age of 16. He completed his studies for the priesthood in Assisi, where he was ordained in 1705. Further studies led to a doctorate in theology and appointments as professor in Agnone, Ravello and Naples. He also served as Guardian of the friary in Naples.

Lucci was elected Minister Provincial in 1718; the following year he was appointed professor at St. Bonaventure College in Rome, a position he held until Pope Benedict XIII chose him in 1729 as Bishop of Bovino, in the Province of Foggia. The pope explained, "I have chosen as bishop of Bovino an eminent theologian and a great saint."